Tuna and Noodles In a Bowl
Posted on by Nancy Kula

Inflation Fighting Main Dishes

 Holy cats! I’m sure you’ve noticed inflation is getting up there. I hope you aren’t in the market for a rental car, a new vehicle, gas or food.

You may not need anything to do with transportation, but you do have to eat. So here are some inflation relief recipes to help you out!

I’m offering you a trio of inflation fighting main dish recipes that your family will actually eat without whining about taste. These recipes are from the 1960’s, and do have carbs and use cans of cream of this and that, but these recipes will feed a crew and provide leftovers for your lunches the next day. If these dishes were good enough for your grandma and grandpa, they might be good enough for you!

Beef and Corn Casserole
I’m one to throw in random vegetables in almost everything I cook. This Beef & Corn Casserole is no exception. I threw in 1 C red pepper for added color to this monochromatic main dish. You can try other vegetables you just found in the back of your ‘fridge!

Beef and Corn Casserole

Let’s start out with the big hit of the ‘60’s, My Girl by The Temptations  and make this Beef & Corn Casserole. It only uses a pound of ground beef and fills a 9X13 baking dish. It’s filling and cheaper than most casseroles out there.

 

Beef & Corn Casserole

  • 1# cooked hamburger (Don’t bother draining if 90%)
  • Onion, salt, pepper to taste
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 can cream of chicken soup
  • 1 can creamed corn
  • 2.5 C elbow macaroni, uncooked

Beef & Corn Casserole Directions:

Brown the ground beef with onion and seasonings. Dump the last 4 ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add cooked beef. Bake @ 375˚ for 45 minutes, until bubbly and macaroni is done. Top will be crunchy. Serves 4-6

Beef and Corn Casserole Recipe

Beef & Corn Casserole Cooking Notes:

  • I recommend you cook the macaroni before you add it to the soup/corn mixture. This will eliminate the crunchy-ness that your kids may find off-putting.
  • You can substitute ground turkey, as it is cheaper than hamburger, but add some Worcestershire sauce and extra salt and pepper.
  • You can substitute veggie elbow macaroni for regular macaroni to add color to an otherwise monochromatic main dish.

Beef and Corn Illustrated Recipe

Vegetarian Chili

Now let’s groove out to The Zombie’s Time of the Season while assembling inflation busting Vegetarian Chili.

Vegetarian Chili

  • 4 C Tomato Juice, divided
  • ¾ C quinoa
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1.5 C chopped onion
  • 1.5 C chopped green pepper
  • 1 C chopped celery
  • 1.25 C chopped carrots
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
  • ¼ C chili powder
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • 1 t dried basil
  • 1 t dried oregano
  • 1 t ground cumin
  • 1 can red kidney beans, drained
  • 1 can cannellini beans, drained
  • 1 can chickpeas beans, drained

Vegetarian Chili Directions:

Bring to a boil 1 C tomato juice in a saucepan. Add quinoa and set aside to cool.

Heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté garlic, onion, pepper, celery, and carrot until tender, for 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, chili powder, lemon juice, basil, oregano, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 2 minutes. Add beans, remaining tomato juice and quinoa mixture.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Vegetarian Chili Recipe

 

Vegetarian Chili Cooking Notes:

  • You can make this with a slow cooker. Be sure to do the tomato juice/quinoa and the sautéing of the vegetables steps first. Drain all of the canned items together and then throw it all in the cooker for 8 hours on low. It will make for “mushier” beans, which some of us prefer.
  • Serve with cornbread and grated cheddar, diced onion, cilantro, and sour cream to increase the fancy factor! If you are short on time, use this Krusteaz Cornbread Mix. I recommend you use butter AND whole milk to up the “love it” factor.
  • If you are serving cornbread, be sure to have extra butter and honey available.
  • This recipe makes a large batch and freezes well.

Illustrated Vegetarian Chili Recipe

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Let’s finish out our ‘60’s set with the classic Neil Diamond Sweet Caroline and a classic Tuna Noodle Casserole!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

  • 1# package egg noodles, cooked
  • 2 or 3 5 ounce cans tuna, drained
  • 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
  • 1 full can milk
  • 2 t salt
  • 1 C chopped celery
  • 12 ounce bag of frozen peas
  • ½ C chopped onion, cooked in water

Top with:

  • 2 C crushed sour cream and onion potato chips
  • 2-3 T butter cut into little chunks to dot on top of chips

Tuna and Noodle Casserole Recipe

 

Tuna Noodle Casserole Directions:

Cook noodles until tender and drain. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Add cooked noodles. Pour into a greased 9X13 glass-baking dish. Sprinkle potato chips over the top and dot with butter. Bake at 350˚ for 30-35 minutes.

Tuna Noodle Casserole Cooking Notes:

The 2-3 cans of tuna in this recipe depends on how much you like tuna.

Use whole milk instead of skim if you can. It makes the casserole taste richer.

If your family can’t handle peas, add more chopped celery.

If adding more crushed potato chips will get your kids to eat this, ponder for a second as to why you’re fighting this battle, and then pile the chips on!

This recipe makes a lot and freezes well!

Tuna and Noodle Illustrated Recipe

Be Blessed!